Published: Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 3:49 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 3:49 p.m.

The locally filmed NBC TV drama that started its first season with strong ratings is now poised to take a four-month break, a move that has some fans and critics worried.

Facts

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“Revolution” airs its midseason finale 10 p.m. Monday on NBC.

Part post-apocalyptic thriller, part road adventure, “Revolution” follows a family trying to survive 15 years after all electronic equipment stops working. The series has been filming in Wilmington since early July.

The breakout hit, which premiered to record-setting ratings and has aired on Monday nights behind the hit singing competition “The Voice,” will wrap the first half of its season on Nov. 26.

It won't return with new episodes until March 25.

The delay will allow “Revolution” to remain paired with “The Voice,” the network's “most protected time slot,” and for new episodes to run for nine weeks without repeats until summer, NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke has said.

Salke believes the show's fans will wait.

Others aren't so sure.

“It's a calculated risk,” Television Critics Association President Candy Havens wrote in an email. “They might be worried about viewer fatigue. Shows such as ‘Revolution' are emotional roller coasters. It would be like watching a new version of ‘The Hunger Games' all of the time. If it's a show they are interested in building, they may want to keep it behind their juggernaut, ‘The Voice,' so the audience continues to grow. But it's a huge risk. Those viewers may have moved on.”

Lengthy breaks historically have been more common among cable shows, such as HBO's “The Sopranos,” which sometimes had more than a year between seasons, Havens said.

“It worked for them,” she said. “NBC and Fox have also done it with some of their other shows. ‘Smashed' isn't coming back (to NBC) until mid-season. That kind of break didn't work so well for Fox with ‘Lie to Me,' which had great momentum, but then when they brought it back several months later the audience was no longer there.”

“Revolution” fan Kelly Payne, of Charlotte, said she was shocked to hear of the series' hiatus.

“As far as I'm concerned, the power is going out on Nov. 26,” she said.

Wilmington's Anne Johnson, creator and webmaster of 15 Dark Years, a “Revolution” fan website, says she's received complaints about the break from several fans. Other viewers aren't sure what to expect, she said.

“Some were confused because it said ‘season finale' for next week's promo and they thought that was the end of the show until next fall,” Johnson said. “Fans never like when shows go on hiatus. But if you're a fan – you're a fan. You stick out those hiatuses because you love the show.”

Wilmington event planner Khalilah Olokunola says she'll do just that.

“The show is suspenseful and worth every bit of time we spend on our sofas watching it or waiting for it to air,” she said.

Olokunola believes the show's cliffhangers will help keep audiences interested during the break.

“I think it has established itself and secured a loyal following, and 90 days of waiting won't do it any harm,” she said. “It's not a mistake, just strategy driven.”

Monday's mid-season finale will satisfy fans and provide incentives for new ones to tune in, said Fred Toye, the episode's director.

“The stakes are very high,” Toye said during filming in downtown Wilmington on Oct. 19. “There are a lot of things that have been set up in previous episodes that are paid off in this episode.”

Despite its success, there's no way to know if the strategy will be successful until March.

“Will it work? Only time will tell,” Havens said. “But if it were me, I would have built on that momentum. I would keep re-runs of the series going and reposition the marketing to bring in those who may have been watching other shows during ‘Revolution.' ”

Self-proclaimed “super fan” Olokunola agreed.

“They must and should post clues daily on what to expect on the lights and how to connect with your favorite character using mediums like Facebook and Twitter,” she said.

The network does plan to provide new digital content for “Revolution” fans in the coming months, according to Entertainment Weekly.

In the meantime, “Revolution's” cast and crews, which consist of an army of local set decorators, make-up artists, special effects technicians and construction crews, will continue to film in the region for a few remaining weeks this year before taking a holiday break and gearing back up to film the rest of its 22-episode season after the New Year.

“Revolution” airs 10 p.m. Mondays on NBC.

Cassie Foss: 343-2365

On Twitter: @WilmOnFilm

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